


Finding Perfect

by SittingInACoffeeShop



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Adoptive Siblings, Burn Victim Leatherhead, Character with OCD, Drug Abuse, Emotional Hurt, Eventual Raph/Casey, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Human AU, Leatherhead/OC character, Little sister Mikey, M/M, Mention of Character Death, Overprotective Siblings, Past Child Abuse, Previous Unfaithful Relationship, Slice of Life, Slow Burn Woody/Mikey, Unplanned Pregnancy, deceased character, overprotective older brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-10-10 06:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17420996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SittingInACoffeeShop/pseuds/SittingInACoffeeShop
Summary: Leonardo (23) has taken over the Hamato Dojo following his father's death.Raphael (22) is working for a construction company while also struggling with...feeling.Donatello (22) is a prodigy of the New York City College.Michelangelo (20) is an impressive skateboarder and thrill-seeker.No matter their differences, they all have something in common:1) They will always be there for each other.2) They are each working toward an ultimately fulfilling life... whether they realize it or not.





	1. Prologue

 

Donatello cleared his throat a couple of times.

His fingers tapped along the keys of the laptop before his head dove back down to look at scattered written notes. The black mug sporting a white periodic table held coffee that had settled to room temperature.

Donatello rolled his eyes up to the ceiling a few times.

His eyeballs felt like sandpaper every time he blinked. His teeth felt fuzzy from all of the coffee he had consumed as well as the lack of current dental hygiene.

But he had no time for oral hygiene or eye drops. He needed to continue studying for the Forensic Biology final he had in a couple of days.

Don vigorously and shortly shook his head before clearing his throat a couple more times and diving back into his notes.

"Don?"

Said boy turned his head to see his burly older brother walk into the kitchen wearing grey and navy PJ pants and a white tank top. His hair was a bit bedraggled and tired, but a quick touch-up to his short braids would remedy that no problem at all.

"Did you sleep at all?" Raph asked with his thick Brooklyn accent.

Donatello had to bite back a snide remark. The only reason he had pulled this all-nighter was because Raph and Mikey had convinced him to go to a party two days prior. Their friend Mondo was a very well-off friend of theirs who owned skate shops nationwide. Every year, Mondo would throw a raging party at his spacious apartment. He would even get permission to host on the rooftop of the apartment complex. It was always a blast, and the Hamatos were always invited, and they always attended. This year, however, Donatello was nervous about this particular final exam since it was out of his normal study domain.

Michelangelo was not having any of it though.

" _Don! We_ always _go to Mondo's party!" Mikey exclaimed, flabbergasted that her immediate older brother would even think about missing it._

_"I'm sorry, Mike, but I need to study for this exam," Don replied, unphased by his sister's sudden dismay._

_"You don't need to study. Come on, what's the worst that could happen? You get a B instead of an A?"_

_Donatello narrowed his eyes and said matter-of-factly, "No, I could get a C."_

_Mikey put a hand to her chest in mock bewilderment. "Oh...oh goodness, gracious. No..."_

_Donatello rolled his eyes in response. He loved his little sister. He really truly did, so much. But she sometimes just did not understand responsibility. It made him worry for her future and how she would make it as a successful adult._

_"What're you yahoos talkin' 'bout?" Raphael asked, walking into the kitchen and straight for the refrigerator._

_Mikey immediately rounded on Raph, "Don says he's not going to Mondo's party!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at the guilty brother._

_Raph, who had been bending down to look in the fridge, immediately straightened up._

_"What? You have to, Don. We always go."_

_"But-"_

_"Don't be a dork. You're going."_

_There was a small pause before Don tried again._

_"But I just-"_

_"No way, nerd-i-tron. You're going," was Raph's rebuttal._

And just like that, Mikey got Raph on her side and they convinced him to go.

"There's coffee if you want some," Don replied with instead.

"Did anyone get half-and-half yesterday?" Raph yawned.

"Nope."

"Then I'll pass."

Raphael always drank his coffee with half-and-half, claiming the skim milk Leonardo and Donnie insisted on buying just didn't cut it. So Raphael stuck with a breakfast that could feed two people instead of one. Three egg and ham croissant sandwiches with a behemoth-sized glass of orange juice. The only other being they knew that could eat like Raph was their friend Casey Jones; another muscular guy, though less beefy than Raphael.

Raphael eyed Donnie a bit while eating. Every minute or so his younger brother would roll his eyes toward the ceiling a few times, clear his throat, or shake his head.

"You okay, Don?" Raph asked suddenly, startling Donatello from his focus.

"Mm," he nodded.

"'Sure?"

"Yeah. Why?" Don asked, looking back down at his notes.

Donatello's obsessive tics had gotten worse since their father had passed. The stress of it all overwhelming him to the point of the actions being nearly non-stop. Leonardo had made it a point to basically  _order_  him into upping his medication. It pained them all to see their brother fall victim to his disorder. That, combined with the stress of studying for his exam was making it act up even more.

Raph didn't want Don to realize why he was asking. His little brother had always been rather self conscious of the tics. And all thanks to some bullies in high school, Donatello felt ashamed of something he couldn't control.

And it made Raphael sick with anger.

So angry in fact that when he found out it was happening he took on three of them at once right in the middle of the school hallway.

So, not wanting Don to feel self conscious, he just went with:

"Jus' checkin'."

Once finished with his breakfast, he put his plate and cup on the left side of the double sink and went back to his bedroom. He wrinkled his nose as he pulled the navy and retroflective coveralls off the hook by his bed. He desperately needed to wash the article of clothing that night.

Walking through the kitchen toward the front door, he spared one more glance at his hard-working, sleep deprived brother.

"Later, nerd," he called over his shoulder.

In response, Donatello waved over his own shoulder without looking up.

* * *

A couple of hours after the front door shut behind Raph, Donnie had showered, brushed the coffee scum off his teeth, and put on a plum-colored quarter sleeve v-neck to pair with dark jeans. He was pleased that the class he was a TA for was only holding exams that day rather than the typical lectures, which he  _so_  did not have the energy for.

Passing by Leo's room, proved what he was already expecting: empty. The shower turning on proving where the eldest was.

Of course, Michelangelo's room showed no sign of consciousness. The curly-haired twenty-year-old was still snoozing soundly.

The door to her bedroom was open a crack and Donatello could hear the soft music she had fallen asleep to emitting from the large desktop speakers.

"' _Cause he gets up in the morning_ ,

_And he goes to work at nine,_

_And he comes back home at five-thirty,_

_Gets the same train every time._

_'Cause his world is built round punctuality,_

_It never fails."_

Donatello couldn't help but hum along to The Kinks song as he continued walking down the hallway and out the front door.

* * *

Once Leo got out of the shower, he went about making a pot of coffee for himself and Mikey. He didn't miss the eraser dust, chewed pens, and scrapped notebook paper left on the counter. He sighed in exasperation

No doubt Don had pulled an all-nighter.

"' _Cause he's oh, so good,_

_And he's oh, so fine,_

_And he's oh, so healthy,_

_In his body and his mind."_

Leonardo hummed the tune as he lightly padded into his little sister's bedroom. He pressed the power button on the stereo system, cutting off the music immediately. He gently, yet solidly, shook her shoulder.

"Mikey…Mike-a-roo. Time to wake up," he coaxed.

Mikey mumbled pathetically into her pillow in response and Leo rolled his eyes.

"Come on, imouto. It's Monday."

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were Mikey's days to help him out in the dojo. He would train with Leo beforehand, then afterward help him coach the students.

"Hair…s'wet. Get off…" Mikey mumbled into the pillow.

Leo grinned at that, letting out a breathy laugh. Sure enough, his freshly showered hair was leaving drips of water on Mikey's shoulder.

"Come on. Up," he chanted while lightly slapping her in the small of her back. "Up, up, up."

"Okay, okay," she whined groggily, sitting up. "Up, up. I'm up, up. You…annoying."

Leo ruffled the mop of curls on her head roughly, earning him a sleepy growl in response, before heading back toward the kitchen.

"Don't make me come back in here!" he called over his shoulder.

Mikey groaned tiredly and fell back into the pillow in a dramatic fashion.


	2. Just Play the Game

 

Raphael watched the lift beams go up and down, up and down.

He crinkled up the empty plastic bag that had held his two sandwiches for lunch and stuffed them in his coverall pocket.

A buzz from his cell phone caused him to look down where it sat on the concrete wall. A small smile pulled at his mouth before quickly disappearing.

_"yo. come here."_

Raph could practically hear Casey's loud New York Accent in the text.

Sure enough, he looked over to the entrance of the construction site where his friend was standing and talking with another worker holding a rock drill.

Raphael got up off the wall, the upper part and sleeves of his coveralls dangling down past his waist to reveal his sweat stained t-shirt underneath. It was simply too hot to sit there on his break with the entirety of his coveralls on. His steel toe shoes kicked up loose gravel and gray dust as he walked over to where the two men stood.

Slash, the large young man with the rock drill, walked away with a nod of his head. Casey smiled at Raph as he approached.

"What do ya want, meathead?" Raph spoke unceremoniously.

"Who you callin' meathead, ya meathead?" Casey put his fists on his hips and tipped his head slightly.

The fond twinkle in his eye made Raph's heart flutter and a smile slip once more.

Which was just  _stupid._

He had known Casey for years and years. There was no reason for him to get so excited at such a small, simple banter.

Yet, the lopsided smile remained on his face as he asked, "What's up?"

"Poker tonight. My place," Casey stated.

"Alright. Better your place than mine. Leo was pissed when we smoked cigars in the living room that one time," Raph said, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Well 'das allowed at my humble abode."

"I'll be there after work and after a shower."

"Good, 'cause we don't need ya stinkin' up the entire apartment," Casey jabbed.

"Can't make it stink more than it already does," Raph rebuttled.

"Har, har, har dee har. Alright, well I gotta get back to the shop," Casey said, turning to leave, but turned back around to say, "Oh yeah, text Mike. Tell her about tonight. She didn't answer me."

"She may be hanging out with that scumbag prick of a boyfriend instead," Raph replied with quite a bit of venom.

Casey stuck his arms out. "Well tell her not to then! See ya."

Raphael had about five more minutes before his break ended and he had to get back to work. He made sure to text Mikey about poker that night, hoping she would take up the offer. Not only did he not like her boyfriend  _at all,_ but Casey lived in downtown Brooklyn, which he did not want Mikey walking around in by herself, especially at night.

* * *

"Again!"

Movement.

"Again!"

Movement.

"Again!"

Movement with a slight air of irritation, but Leo did not care.

"Again!"

This went on for five more minutes until he finally authoritatively called out, " _Yame!"_

The class immediately halted their actions.

Leo had his students practice the movements of omote shuto. He was quite diligent when it came to what he believed the students were and were not ready for. Of course he was never going to train them in the form of weaponry, but the fighting he did teach could easily cause unnecessary harm in his dojo, and he definitely did not want that to happen. Not that it hadn't happened before, and that was when it was especially handy to have Donatello around.

Mikey retied the large, orange bandana that she always sported on her head during training and lessons. While on some days she kept the bow to the bandana at the base of her neck in the back, on that day she had the overly large bow tied right on top of her head in front of the thick curly blonde mohawk.

No matter what she put in her hair though, it was always difficult to tame the mane, which clearly showed as curls would almost always hang down toward her forehead.

And yet, that was nothing compared to what Mike used to deal with when it came to her hair. Which was a big reason she even cut it all off in the first place. While some people in the past could drill her for having her hair cut in such a way, Leo could honestly say he didn't know any different. As long as she had been their sister, Mikey had always had short hair. And if that's how she liked it, then that was good enough for him.

Screw what others thought.

"Very good, all of you, but I am still seeing some clumsiness in the way you swing your arms," Leo went to stand in front of Michelangelo who had been doing the moves herself in front of the class for the students to reference.

Leo explained the technique to his students while performing it slowly – yet not too slow – on Mikey. He did this a couple more times before doing it at a more regular pace, the students watching intently.

Leo looked at the clock on the wall before saying, "Alright, we were supposed to practice this with a partner but that will have to wait until next time."

After bowing, the students began collecting all of their stuff.

Leo put his white t-shirt back on. He always went shirtless for training, and it generally stayed off until it was time to clean up and leave.

The four siblings generally wore the same clothing when they were at the dojo. Leo would have his blue and black box braids tied back in a ponytail with a cobalt blue dread tie. He would wear a white t-shirt, which he would relieve himself of relatively quickly; pairing with black gym jogger sweatpants. Raphael would be clad in some form of basketball shorts and a black tank top. Donnie also preferred basketball shorts and a tank top, but he always wore compression tights underneath. Mikey's training outfit consisted of white high-waisted bike shorts with a rather large tank top that boldly read "Slice Slice Baby" with a graphic of her favorite food: pizza.

Leo was having short conversations with various students as Mikey was doing her regular stretches on the floor, showing just how flexible she truly was. Leo liked to think he knew the students well enough to not try any coquettish behavior, especially in his dojo. Yet he still gave short glances every once in a while to ensure neither of the two boys that always talked to her afterwards were doing anything of the sort. Despite Mikey's exasperation over her brothers' overprotective ways, they couldn't always help it; as though it was just second nature to them.

Of course, Mikey was fine.

One of the students he did not know too much about, but the other had been a student of Master Splinter's when he was still alive. He had brought flowers to their townhouse after their father's passing to express his condolences.

Mikey's laughter rang out in the dojo at something one of the boys said, ensuring Leo even further that nothing worrisome was going on. Not that Mikey necessarily had the best judge of character.

After all of the students had left, Leo began spraying disinfectant on the floor all around the room. Mikey had just gone into another stretching pose when her phone rang.

"Hey!" Mikey's voice said excitedly, with a bit of strain due to the candle stick shoulder stand she was doing.

"Hey," responded the calm voice through the speaker; she had placed her phone on the floor beside her head.

"Whatcha doin' sweets?" she asked.

"Sitting here wondering why you haven't called," came the cold reply, making Leo stop mid-spray and shoot his eyes in the direction of his sister.

"Babe, you know I have lessons with Leo Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays," Mikey replied, still a bit too cheerful for the tone she was receiving on the other end.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Michelangelo worked at the dojo with Leo, aiding him with the students. Prior to that they would train followed by meditation. Tuesday and Saturday Raphael would help with training, and Thursday was Donatello's day to help; Don only having one day due to his class and study schedule. On Sunday they would all train together with no class to interrupt them because the dojo was closed.

"I thought…I thought it was Tuesday and Thursday or some shit like that," came the mumble through the phone.

Mikey sighed quietly. "No, no, it's-"

"I know it's fucking Monday, Wednesday, Fri-whatever but you should  _know_ that I don't always remember what fucking  _day_ it is!"

As soon as her boyfriend's tone began getting louder and more aggressive, she immediately fell out of her shoulder stand and fumbled to grab the phone to take it off speaker.

Leo had continued what he was doing, sweeping the large dust mop across the floor to spread the disinfectant and gather any particles left over on the floor. He clenched the handle on the mop tighter, however, as anger surged through him.

Mikey had been in a relationship with Trey for eight months. While he seemed like a friendly enough guy at first, they noticed a different side to him after about the six month mark: aggressive phone calls, snapping at her to be quiet or to stop spazzing out, trying to tell her what she could or could not wear, ordering her to not do this or not do that….

It made Leo, as well as Raph and Donnie so angry they could spit.

But Mikey had insisted time and time again that she could handle herself, and the three of them truly believed she could, but they were not sure if she  _would._

"Trey, don't yell at me," Mikey said quietly into the phone once she had taken it off speaker. "This has been my schedule for a long time, it's not my fault that you didn't remember-"

She was cut off by more yelling on the other end. So loud that Leo could hear it, just not the exact words.

"Okay, okay…yeah…well actually I was supposed to hang out with Raph, Casey, and others tonight…poker night, and you  _know_ who Casey is…long time family friend…yes you  _do_ you  _know_ who he is…."

Leo swept around Mikey, who did not even make a move to stand up from her position on the floor. At this point she was the exact opposite of her more free stretching poses from before, sitting with her knees to her chin with a hand clenched in her hair.

"Okay…you're right. You're right I'm sorry…"

Leo clenched the broom even tighter.

"Yeah I'll be there…bye."

Silence fell over the dojo for a few moments before Leo opened his mouth.

"Ar-"

"Please, Leo, just…please don't say anything," Mikey said in a low voice as she stood up to grab her tie dye high top shoes she almost always wore.

There was a silence once again that went on for a full minute before Leo tried again.

"I was just going to say…you ditched poker night plans with Raph, Casey, and them the last time. You know me and Don... we aren't good substitutes," Leo tried to add the last bit to get some sort of smile on his baby sister's face, but all he got was a pathetic excuse for a Mikey-smile.

"Yeah, you guys aren't the best at poker," she lightly jested.

It was like watching a balloon deflate. What was once a happy, electric individual was so easily transformed into someone so crestfallen. It was so wrong.

It was so not Mikey.

After yet another silence she said, "It's not that I don't want to go. I want to, I just-"

"Then  _go_ ," Leo couldn't help but blurt out in frustration. "Michelangelo, go and do what you want to do. You're always doing what  _he_ wants to do."

"Leo-"

"No, Mike. Enough is enough. He's been treating you like shit for  _months_ now and I've had enough. We've  _all_ had enough."

"Leo-"

"Did you know that even Casey notices? That April notices? They're hardly around the guy and yet they notice. They ask about you all the time because they're so  _worried_  that-"

"Stop!" Mikey shouted, stopping Leo in his rant. "Just…please stop, Leo. I…"

Leonardo's face softened and he walked over to where his sister stood with her arms wrapped tight around herself, head down as though she was in trouble. While Leo was indeed frustrated with her, it wasn't her who was to blame. It was  _him._  That  _guy._

"Mike…hey…" he put his hand on her shoulder firmly yet in a comforting manner. "Michelangelo, look at me."

Somehow, that always seemed to work.

Mikey looked up at him with eyes that still held such life and sparkle, that he was so very scared would luster out.

He held stern yet loving eye contact as he said, "You know it's because we care. You know it's because we don't like seeing you get so upset time and time again. You know it's because we're  _worried."_

Mikey's gaze fell a bit and she softly said, "I know Leo."

And in true Michelangelo fashion, she wrapped her arms tightly around him in a hug, which Leo gladly accepted.

After about ten seconds he heard her mumble into his shirt, "You stink."

Leo chuckled. "Yeah well you don't smell so good yourself. Let's go home and shower."

Just like that, a classic Mikey smile was back on her face.

"That explains why I don't smell good. I used your deodorant."

Leo ruffled his sister's hair.

"Get your stuff and let's go."

* * *

"How's it going on your end? How's everyone doing?" April asked.

April had been in Florida all summer working on some sort of "Saving Sea Turtles" project. Donatello was talking to her via video chat on his laptop. He opened his mouth to reply when Leo chimed in from seemingly out of nowhere behind him.

"We're doing  _glorious_  and you?"

April let out a small giggle at Donnie's slightly bothered expression. He hated when his oldest brother performed one of his "sneak attacks," whether he meant to or not.

"Great! I love it here but I'm so excited to get back to the city and to you guys," she replied, slight longing in her voice. "I really miss you guys."

"Miss you too, babe."

"We miss you too, Ape."

"MISSING YOU TOO!"

The three voices, - clearly belonging to which sibling - sounded out. Michelangelo was in the kitchen putting leftovers away, having called out loudly from there.

Raphael walked out of the kitchen at that moment and walked past the screen.

"As you can tell..."

"You know you're missing me too, Raph-a-doodle," April teased.

"Don't call me that," Raphael said, though with no bite to his tone.

April just laughed in response.

"Oh, he misses you. He just won't admit it. He does ask about you all the time, though," Leo said.

"Aw, Raph asks about me?"

"Just to make sure you haven't drowned or nothin'," Raphael said as he sat down on the couch to put on his white sneakers.

"Yeah, yeah, well anyway...I have to write some quick logs down on my day before my thoughts turn stale."

"Whatcha need logs for? You're there aren't ya?" Raph asked.

"Yeah, but I don't want to forget one single detail. Gotta get everything perfect for my future publication on these lil guys I'm trying to save here," April said with a smile that Raph couldn't see but he could definitely hear.

"You and turtles..." Raphael muttered.

"What can I say? I love 'em. Anyway, bye! Love you, Don. See ya before you know it."

"Love you too, Ape," Don said over the simultaneous "Aw's" he was getting from all three of his siblings.

April laughed, blew a kiss at the screen and logged off.

Donnie sighed and shut the laptop.

All kidding aside, Leonardo slapped a comforting hand to his brother's purple-clad shoulder.

"Like she said, you'll see her before you know it," he said.

"I know..."

Raphael reached over, gave his immediate younger brother a quick pat on the knee in his own abrupt form of comfort, and stood up.

"Well, I'm headed to Casey's."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know mother hen, when I feel like it," Raphael retorted.

Leo glared at him but instead just replied with, "Just don't do anything stupid, please."

"Raphie boy? Stupid?  _Never,"_ Mikey said, skating out of the kitchen on her skateboard.

"And you too! Nothing stupid!"

"Well you're no fun," Mikey retorted, stopping at the door to put on a large, pale orange OBEY hoodie.

"I mean it," Leo warned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Raph and Mikey said as they left the house.

"Lost cause, Leo," Don said, without looking up from the television.

Leo sighed and said, "Yep."

Leo then turned his head toward the tv at a familiar line:

_"Into the Moon Buggy! We must'nt-"_

"Hey, who said you could watch Jupiter Jim without me?"


	3. Breaking Light

"I'm out," Raphael said, dropping his cards on the table before taking a swig of whiskey.

"Ah screw it, I'm out too," Crow grumbled in his usual soft voice.

Ari "Crow" Miller had become a friend of the Hamato family through their long-time family friend, Leroy, affectionately known as Leatherhead. Crow was lead singer of a relatively popular local band, The Bleeding Tongue, as well as tattoo artist. When performing with his band at a somewhat secret underground bar, a certain seven-foot muscular man caught his eye. It wasn't just the fact that the man seemed to tower over a majority of the crowd, but rather that he was so striking and oh so endearingly uncomfortable. Right there in the middle of his set, Crow vowed to himself that he would talk to the man before the night ended.

"And then there were two, dun, dun,  _dun,"_ Casey slurred a bit as he walked up to the table.

He had folded a couple of hands prior, so had been busying himself with emptying the remainder of the night's bottle of whiskey.

Just as he started pouring more of the dark alcohol into his glass, he started humming the Quiet Riot song that had just started playing through the speakers; just having put on their Metal Health vinyl, The apartment was so small that the sound had no trouble making it's way to their ears in the kitchen.

Some of Casey's favorite possessions were the records and record player he had gotten from his father before he died. Casey had bought some large speakers on discount to hook up to the dated music device, setting them on the floor in the small living room.

There were records upon records of heavy rock, heavy metal, classic hip-hop - gifted by Raph - and others of the like. There were even some gems that typically stayed hidden from view, like Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

When they stumbled across the albums one day, Casey tried to fight off the blush of embarrassment. He had a tough guy persona to keep up after all, and that meant there was no room for him to be some gushy jazz-lover. Since that day, however, Donatello stood by the notion that Casey was a "hopeless romantic"; speaking of it just to bug him.

Slash, the man that Raphael worked with in construction, puffed on his cigar; the pungent scent of the smoke billowing out into the room.

"Hate to break it to ya, cupcake," Slash said in his gravelly voice. "But I got four of a kind."

Michelangelo's face fell and Slash took the cigar out of his mouth just to laugh.

"Ah, shit no way," Casey gaped.

It was somehow always difficult to match up Mikey in a game of poker, or any card game for that matter. Once she learned, she  _learned._ Which had always been surprising for a girl with insane attention deficit disorder.

"Well… damn, Slash. It seems like ya got me," Mikey pouted.

Slash leaped up and whooped and hollered, paying no mind to any neighbors Casey had.

"HA! I knew I had ya this time lil chickie!" Slash playfully yet loudly celebrated. "I'll just gather all this money I won and give you the shots we  _all_ agreed would be on the counter and ready for the ultimate  _loser_."

Slash put the three shot glasses on the table and began pouring the dark liquid into them. Just as he got to the first one Mikey said, "Can I just say something before I accept defeat?"

"Sure whatever, kid, shoot," Slash replied, still absolutely glowing from his victory.

"Get out of the shower."

"What?" he scoffed.

"Get out of the shower," Mikey repeated simply, and Raphael put a hand to his mouth as a grin started to break out on his face.

"Get out of the…what?" Slash asked, starting to pour into the third shot glass.

"Get out of the shower," Mikey said before laying her cards down face-up on the table. "'Cause I gotta flush."

It took a second to register in his head, then Slash dropped the bottle on the table and shouted, "Are you  _kidding me?!"_

Raphael and Casey belted out laughing at the completely defeated look on their friend's face.

" _Are you kidding me?!"_

Slash kept repeating the same, aggravated words over and over again as Mikey laughed.

"And  _that,_ ladies and gentlemen, is my sister," Raph bellowed, not knowing the volume of his own voice due to the alcohol he had consumed that night.

"Maybe next time, Slashie-boy," Mikey said, patting his shoulder; at that point the man was on the floor on his hands and knees in utter defeat. "Tell you what, I'll take one of these shots  _and_  leave half the dough for the mean trick."

Mikey knocked back the sharp, dark liquid before snatching the Yankees hat off of Slash's head.

"I'm still keeping this too, at least until next poker night," she said with a smirk as she put the slightly ratty blue hat backwards on her head.

Casey was still poking fun at Slash for his loss while Crow took a sip of his soda with a smile.

"Mike, Mikey, hey!" Raphael called out, having finally stopped laughing.

His sister was sitting on the floor by the door putting her shoes on.

"You still going?" he asked, a tinge of uneasiness in his voice, despite the slight slurring.

"I told Mondo and Pete I would meet them at midnight. So yes I'm still going. You know I never miss out on night boarding," she said, looking up at the last bit with a fond smile.

"You just drank something though."

She let out a small laugh and said, "One drink, Raph. I think I'll be alright."

Sometimes Raphael wished his little sister was still too young to go anywhere in the city on her own. There were times he hated not chaperoning her, but he – along with Leo and Don – knew that it was high time to loosen up the hold. She was, after all, a young adult. Master Splinter had had a lot to do with their…letting go.

_Three years prior_

_The door to Mikey's bedroom slammed shut following an argument with all three brothers, which ultimately led to Leo and Raph shouting._

_Donnie couldn't help but wince at the loud noise._

_Mikey had lied about going to the movie theatre with Woody and had instead been caught at a party with some friends. She was not the type to 'dress up' by any means, but she had still left the house in a cropped hoodie, high-waisted black jeans, and an orange belt with silver studs; not necessarily out of the ordinary if they were going to some type of party or gathering as the four of them_ together. _However, it was definitely out of the norm for their sister to dress like that just to go to a movie with her best friend._

_Unfortunately for Mikey, a mutual friend of Raph's just so happened to be at the same party. When Raph saw his little sister in the background of his friend's picture, not only caught in a lie but also standing with random people he had never seen before, he immediately went into angry Big Bro Mode._

" _It's like she doesn't fucking_ think!"  _Raphael yelled._

"Raph _," Leo snapped, though angry as well from the situation and the possibility of 'what if.'_

" _My sons…what has happened?" the calm voice of their father broke through the tense atmosphere of the kitchen._

" _Your daughter, the moronic lil shit, happened," Raph spat._

" _Raphael, language!" Splinter scolded. "Now tell me, what has happened? Is Michelangelo okay?"_

" _Oh, she's fine," Leo responded coolly. "She just lied is all."_

" _What?"_

" _You know how Mike said she was going to the movies yesterday? Well, turns out she went to a party instead," Donnie said calmly, some of his tics coming through more harshly and frequently at the gravity of his negative imagination of what could have happened to Mikey at said party._

" _I see…" Splinter said with a hint of disappointment._

_He pulled out a chair with a slight squeak and sat down._

" _Please sit, my sons."_

_The three obeyed and sat down at the table._

" _Is Michelangelo's lying the only thing you are upset about?"_

_No one answered, but Splinter patiently waited for the answer he already knew._

" _Some…something could have happened, sensei…" Leo said quietly. "We didn't know where this party was, who she was with…if anything were to happen, we wouldn't have been able to get to her."_

_Splinter let out a small sigh before saying, "I understand your concern and frustration. I feel it too. Not just for Michelangelo but for all of you. I can only hope I have taught all you well enough as not only a sensei but as a father…to defend yourselves and to make the right decisions."_

" _Mikey must'a missed those lessons, 'cause she up 'n decided to lie right to our faces," Raph grouched._

" _While I am disappointed that she lied, I must ask, why do you believe Michelangelo lied about what she was doing?"_

" _'Cause_ _she's an immature lil brat," Raph said._

" _Coming from someone who is oh so mature at all times," Donnie said sarcastically._

_Raphael shot his younger brother a glare, but Splinter continued._

" _No, Raphael. It is because she cannot trust you."_

" _What?" the three brothers blurted at once._

" _Master Splinter, I'm sorry but…Mikey trusts us. I mean she has to. It's us," Donnie said._

" _Yes, but she does not trust you three to understand her yearn for independence and freedom.. to understand that she is growing up," Splinter replied._

_Silence followed their father's words, none of them quite knowing what to say. So Splinter continued, "Michelangelo is growing into a young woman…a young adult just like the three of you. There are things she may want to do without you boys hovering over her. Just like me, you three have to learn to let go. Allow her to make her own choices, own mistakes, own life."_

_More silence, though this time more thoughtful._

" _I will have a word with Michelangelo later, but for now I think it wise to go speak to her yourselves," Master Splinter said._

_The three brothers looked at each other as Splinter started moving about the kitchen, preparing himself a cup of tea._

_Mikey was laying on her bed, angrily moving charcoal across her sketchpad. The knock on the door did not stop her quick hand movements one bit._

" _Mike, can we come in?" came Donnie's voice on the other side._

" _Whatever," she replied._

_Donnie came into the room first and sat next to her on the bed. He looked down at what she was drawing, taking note of the charcoal already coating her hands, showing just how much she had furiously sketched already._

" _We need to talk, bud," he said gently._

" _About what? About the fact that you guys were_ blowing up  _my cell phone last night yelling at me? Or the way you guys completely overreacted?"_

" _Well, technically you can't yell through a text message," Donnie said, trying to add some humor into the mix._

" _You guys don't trust me. You constantly think of me as a baby. And you don't believe I can take care of myself," Mikey said angrily._

" _Look, Mike…we're sorry we freaked out like we did. You just don't understand how scared we were when we found out you weren't where you were supposed to be. If anything had happened-"_

"I know, _if anything had happened you wouldn't have been able to swoop in and protect me like the great big bro squad you are. Because I'm such a hopeless damsel who can't take care of herself," she said with more venom than they were used to._

" _Hey, we know you can handle yourself when it comes down to it, but-"_

" _Obviously not!" Mikey shouted, interrupting Leo and sitting up suddenly. "You guys still treat me like I'm some kind of…some kind of child! I'm not a baby anymore! I can handle myself!"_

" _We know you can, but it doesn't hurt to have a friend with you in new places and situations like that!" Leo said sharply._

" _I did! Woody was there!"_

" _Woody? But…but I thought-" Leo started._

" _You said Woody wasn't there," Raph argued._

" _No I didn't! Yeah, I lied and I'm sorry, but the thing I didn't lie about was hanging out with Woody!"_

" _Well, Mike, you didn't tell us that. How were we supposed to know-" Leo started but Mikey interrupted again._

" _No, you didn't know, because you didn't care enough to_ listen! _" Mikey shouted, slamming her hand on the bed in frustration._

_The three brothers were staring at Mikey; their baby sister who was once so dependent on them, now arguing with them about wanting her own independence._

" _I just wish you guys would…would stop thinking of me as some kind of stupid kid who doesn't know what she's doing," she continued, though softer and with a hint of tears in her voice. "I'm not stupid."_

_Leo sat down on the bed on her other side and put his arm around her as Don put a hand on her shoulder._

" _Mike…we don't think you're stupid. Far from it," Leo said gently._

" _Funny way of showing it," she responded, head down so as to hide the tears starting to brim in her eyes._

" _Mike, come on, we don't think ya stupid," Raph said, leaning down to her eye level. "We just don't want to see ya gettin' hurt."_

" _We-we're sorry we've made you feel incompetent. That wasn't our intent," Don comforted. "We just-"_

" _We've been having a hard time letting go I guess," Leo finished._

_Mikey looked up at that._

" _From now on, we'll try to lay off on the Big Bro Squad duties," Leo said with a small grin. "But only if you agree to not lie about stuff like where you'll be going."_

_Mikey sniffed and said, "Okay…okay, deal."_

_Raph ruffled his little sister's hair and said, "We love ya squirt. Don't you forget it."_

"I can practically hear your thoughts, Raph," Mikey said, jerking Raph out of his own head.

She was still sitting on the floor, but her shoes were on and she had her elbows resting on her knees and chin rested in the palms of her hands, staring at him with a smile on her face.

"Fine. Just text me when you get there, aight?"

Mikey gave a thumbs up and a wide smile, showing the small gap between her front teeth.

Raph walked back into the kitchen to see Slash slamming back the remaining two shots of whiskey, Casey cheering him on. Slash slammed the second shot glass down on the table once he finished it, lifting his hands as though he had completed some great feat.

"Yeah, yeah. Only after my little sister drank one of 'em for ya," Raph goaded.

* * *

The colorful LED lights in her skateboard's wheels glowed bright in the New York night. She had been skating long enough and in the city long enough to maneuver around with ease.

"Mondo! What's up?" Mikey answered her phone. "Yeah, yeah I'm on my way. Fifteen minutes away…mhm buh bye!"

Just as she hung up the phone, a glass bottle hit her board, shattering loudly. The abrupt distraction almost made Mikey wipe out on the sidewalk, but she managed to catch herself before falling down and eating a face full of concrete.

The skateboard had rolled ahead and nudged someone in the ankles. The person turned around and wordlessly kicked the skateboard in her direction.

Mikey lifted up her hand in a wave and called, "Sorry about that, thanks!" before looking around for the source of whatever the heck had just happened.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my loyal and respectful girlfriend," a slow drawl came from an alleyway by the bar she had just skated past. "Or…that's who I thought she was anyway."

"Trey, did you throw…why did you- you almost made me wipe out dude! What the hell?!"

"Sorry,  _dude_. Guess it slipped," Trey mocked.

Mikey knew that Trey had been ticked off that she went back with her original plans, but she didn't think it warranted a bottle to be thrown at her. She caught a whiff of stale alcohol stench along with synthetic marijuana.

"Your drunk," she stated. "And high on who knows what."

"And?"

"And you just threw a bottle at me, Trey! I mean what the hell? I know you get really testy when your intoxicated but that's just going too far."

Trey scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Oh come on. You didn't get hurt. You're fine."

"That doesn't-!"

"Who's hat is that?"

"What?"

Trey stepped closer and said in a low, cross tone, "Who's hat is that?"

Mikey reflexively put a hand to her head, "My-my friend Slash's. I'm borrowing it."

"Uh huh…and how many fucking  _guys_ were at this party, huh?!" he shouted at her, spit shooting out onto her face.

"It wasn't a party, it was just a night with some friends and Raph and-" Mikey brought her hand down and stood as tall as she could, which wasn't much being only four foot ten. "I already explained this. Just because you're on some kind of binger does not give you the right to treat me like this. I'm leaving."

Trey stood in disbelief as his girlfriend spun on her heel.

"Wh-fine! Be that way, bitch! Go!"

Mikey ignored him, feeling more anger than she had in a long time, and started skating down a wide alleyway. As the end of the alley got closer and closer, however, her anger was getting replaced by elation, which was strange considering what had just happened.

Suddenly pain exploded in the back of her head, making her fall off her skateboard yet again and slide on the concrete. It definitely wasn't the first time she had gotten road rash, but damn did it hurt every time.

There was no time to think about the blood starting to ooze on her knee and shin as something else slammed into the side of her face. The familiar sound of glass shattering filled her ears, making the ear on the afflicted side of her head ring.

" _Lousy bitch!"_

She was lifted by her neck, cutting off her breathing. Then a fist connecting to her face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Splitting the side of her nose open and allowing blood to flown down her face and into her mouth.

Then there was shouting, and the tight grip on her neck went away. Still so disoriented from the hit to her head and gasping in air that she had so suddenly been denied, Mikey crawled forward a bit and leaned one shoulder against the brick wall, instinctively bringing one hand up to her bleeding face.

More shouting, but she couldn't make out the words.

Then, almost as soon as the attack began, it was over.

The alley was quiet.

Trey was gone.

And Mikey was alone.

Huh. His friends must have come out of the bar, saw what was happening and stopped him. Yet didn't care enough to make sure she was okay.

Mikey stayed in that position for a while before finally deciding to move. Looking blearily around for her skateboard, but not seeing it anywhere. Someone probably took it when it finally stopped rolling.

Blood from her road rash was soaking her white crew socks while the blood leaking out of her head was getting all over her favorite orange hoodie.

Then it started raining.

Pouring actually.

The water should have felt soothing, but instead the drops felt more like an onslaught of cold daggers wounding her spirit further.

Rain at a time like this.

How cliché.


	4. Dull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: *growl* So I noticed a big mistake after I already published the previous chapter in describing Mikey. I accidentally put that she was 5 foot 10 but I MEANT 4 foot 10. I've corrected that mistake by now. In case it matters to anyone, here is how I envision their heights:
> 
> Leo: Five feet, six inches
> 
> Raph: Five feet, four inches
> 
> Don: Five feet, nine inches
> 
> Mikey: Four feet, ten inches
> 
> Anywho... hope you enjoy this chapter.

_"Jim, there is only a twenty percent chance of this mission succeeding!"_

"That's eighty more than I need," Leo and Donnie said the lines at the same time as Jupiter Jim did on the television.

"I really think we could recite this movie from memory," Leo said.

"I don't  _think_  we can, I  _know_ we can," Don said from his slumped position next to his brother.

"I'm going to the bathroom, don't pause it," Leo said, standing up.

"You sure?"

"Hm, let's see, this is the…one millionth time I've seen it? Yeah I'm sure," Leo joked.

Don continued watching the movie, taking a sip of tea that had settled to a temperature colder than his liking. Jupiter Jim was about to give a big, heroic speech.

_"It's been one week since you looked at me_

_Cocked your head to the side_

_and said I'm angry"_

Don winced at the obnoxious song that suddenly started screaming at him from Leo's phone. His oldest brother always chose hyperactive songs and turned the volume all the way up so he would not miss a call. But there were times an unlucky person – like Don – would be scared out of their wits not knowing the phone was there.

"Leo! Your obnoxious phone is going off!" he called out with an annoyed tone.

"You like this song, don't deny it," Leo said, jogging back into the room to catch the call.

"I did until it became your ringtone a month ago," Don replied. "Now I resent it for ever existing."

Leo smirked and answered his phone, "What's up, Raph? How's poker going?"

Donatello did not notice Leo's smile falling completely off his face, replaced with concern.

"Maybe she just forgot. Have you tried getting a hold of Mondo or Pete?"

_"No matter how this mission goes, it has been an honor fighting with you all."_

_"We will win. When we're together, anything is possible."_

Donatello mouthed Jim's words almost without realizing, still not paying any mind to Leo's conversation.

"W-well, maybe she just got distracted. Maybe…when did she leave?...  _An hour ago?"_

That caught Don's attention. He paused the movie and looked up at Leo.

"What's going on?"

"Don, have you heard from Mikey at all?" Leo asked.

"No, why? What's going on?"

Leo ignored the question again and said to Raph, "I'm going to try and call Mikey…. _I know_ you said you've tried already but I'm trying again. Let me know if she shows up back at Casey's. Yeah…okay, bye."

"Leo, what's going on?" Donatello tried again.

"We don't know where Mike is," Leo said, feeling even more worry creep into his mind.

Leo pressed the button to call his sister, putting it on speaker.

_Yo, yo, yo it's Mikey! Not answering right now, but drop a message after the beep!_

"Her phone is dead," Leo stated.

The rain that had began a little over an hour ago was still coming down hard, relentlessly hitting the windows. Every so often a soft rumble of thunder would accompany the steady patter of drops.

"She-she's fine Leo," Donatello said, but his worried voice was not too convincing.

Leo continued to try and call Mikey's cell phone, but kept getting the voice message with no ring at all. He tried four times, five times, fifteen times…

Ten minutes of waiting turned to twenty minutes, which turned to thirty minutes.

The only sounds in the house were Donatello clearing his throat every couple of minutes and Leo's pacing steps.

And the clock that continued to tick away.

"That's it, I'm going to look for her," Leo said, starting to stomp off to his room to grab a jacket.

"I'll go with you," Don said, standing up.

"No, if she comes home someone needs to be here to yell at her," Leo replied angrily. "And then I am  _so_ going to have words with her."

Donatello knew that Leo was more worried than angry. Sure there were times Mikey forgot to text them that she had arrived at a destination, but this was not normal.

Don sighed and rubbed his hands down his face in exasperation.

Mikey was in big trouble. But he couldn't manage to be too angry at her until he knew she was okay.

Then he heard it. The door handle jiggling as someone turned a key on the other side.

Don sighed in relief and stood up. He wanted to look pissed off when she came through the door, but he was unable to stop the smile from forming on his face. Because she was here. She was home. She was safe.

And that was something to smile about.

The door opened and in walked his sopping wet little sister.

"Michelangelo, do you have any idea how…worried…we've…" Donatello's voice tapered off and his hands slowly fell from his hips.

" _Is that who I think it is?!"_ came Leo's shout from his bedroom.

Donatello was frozen in place, unable to force his legs to move because…this was just  _wrong._

Michelangelo's orange hoodie was soaked and hanging more loose on her small frame than usual, but that was not where Donatello's eyes were.

Blood was all over the left shoulder and front of her hoodie. There were streams of blood coming from the left side of her scalp, but most of it was coming from the cut on her nose, which had caused a river of red to flow over her mouth and down her chin.

Purple and blue bruising completely surrounded her left eye and seemed to be getting even harsher by the second.

Blood had completely soaked her once-white sock, oozing out of the angry, gnarly scrapes on her right leg.

"O-oniisan," Mikey whimpered softly, sounding more like a child than she had in years.

That broke Donatello out of his shock.

He rushed over, and bent down to Mikey's eye level to inspect the damage with concerned eyes.

"Imouto…imouto what happened?" Donatello asked gently, trying to remain calm but his voice wavered.

Upon closer inspection he could see that the whiteness of her eye was instead a bright red, indicating a broken blood vessel.

Mikey was unable to answer as she was taking quick, stuttering breaths in. She was trying not to cry.

"Okay, okay come on, let's go to the kitchen," Donatello said gently, his arm around her shoulders and guiding her as though she had never been to their house before. Because, frankly, she was almost looking like she did not fully realize where she was, making Donatello worry that she had a concussion.

"Did you forget to charge your phone before leaving or…M-Mikey…?" Leo breathed out upon seeing the state his sister was in.

"We need to sit her down so I can look over the damage more. Leo, call Leatherhead," Donatello said seriously.

Sure, he wasn't a doctor, but he had done enough studying on injury care to know enough of what he was doing.

"Michelangelo, what happened?" Leo's voice was starting to shake with each syllable.

"Leo, call Leatherhead now!" Donatello repeated firmly.

Once he had gently pushed Mikey down into a kitchen chair, he got down to her level again.

"Mikey, you with me? I'm going to get the first aid kit, you stay right here, okay?" he said softly, hand on her shoulder as if to ground her.

Mikey opened her mouth, but nothing came out so she shut it and just nodded.

After having successfully asked Leatherhead to come over, Leo didn't even find the time to say goodbye. He rushed into the kitchen and took in his little sister's condition.

"Mikey, what happened? Who did this to you?" he asked seriously, heavy concern in his eyes. "Michelangelo, who did this to you?"

Mikey opened her mouth, trying to get her voice to work. After a few seconds she simply said, "I'm cold."

Her voice sounded so small and so wounded that it made Leo's heart clench. His lips tightened a bit as he stopped himself from interrogating further over what had happened. He instead put his hand on the right side of her face, the side that wasn't a black and blue bloodied mess; a tight, sad smile formed on his lips as she instinctively leaned a bit against his hand.

"I'll be right back, imouto," Leo said softly.

As Mikey sat in the chair, water intermingling with blood was dripping onto the white and black tiled floor. The left side of her face was pulsating with her heart beat. She could not smell the comforting scent of their home, only the coppery scent of blood.

In hardly any time at all, Leo was back in the kitchen with a fresh change of clothes.

"Here you go, Mike," Leo said gently. "Get yourself out of those wet clothes. I'm going to go call Raph and tell him what's going on."

Mikey nodded numbly.

"Don, don't go in the kitchen yet, Mikey's changing out of her wet clothes," Leo said, poking his head in the bathroom.

Donnie had been on the phone and hung up as soon as Leo popped his head in.

"Good. That's a good idea," he said in a disconcerted way. "I, um…I called Raph to tell him that Mikey was here and-and I called Mondo so he knew too."

"Oh, you called Raph already. Good, good," Leo said.

Donnie had his hands clenched so tight on the first aid kit it was almost a wonder it wasn't denting the tin.

"Who…who the  _fuck_ did this, Leo?" Donnie asked quietly yet with malice.

Donatello did not swear very often. When he did it always caught the other three off guard.

Leo didn't answer.

Instead he brought his hand up and put it on his younger brother's shoulder in a comforting manner. Leo had a feeling he knew who the culprit was. It had been sitting uncomfortably in his gut since the second he saw Mikey standing there. He had a feeling Donatello knew too.

They made their way back to the kitchen, but did not enter until Donnie rapped his knuckles on the wall to signal they were coming into the room.

Michelangelo was sitting in the same chair but in dry clothes, her wet clothes discarded in a heap on the floor. Leo had brought her favorite pair of comfy shorts, which were soft blue and white boxers. The black tank top she wore revealed enough skin to show the wavy sun tattoo on the base of her neck. Her knees were up to her chin and her hands were curled around her neck.

"Mike, LH will be here soon and he'll get you all patched up. But for now we need to get you cleaned up a bit, okay?"

Mikey nodded in response and he sat down in the chair across from her.

She brought her knees down and slowly removed her hands from her neck. Donnie's frown deepened and he pushed his glasses further up on his nose.

Now that the orange hoodie wasn't in the way, he could clearly see bruises starting to form on her neck. The most unsettling part being that they were in the shape of fingers. Donnie's expression darkened.

"Mike, can you tilt your head up for me?" Donnie asked, trying to keep his voice gentle but the anger was slipping through.

She tilted her head up so Don could see the bruises more in the light.

"Are those-?" Leo started and Don nodded. Leo's lip twitched and curled as he seethed. Someone had had their hands around his little sister's neck.

Leo watched from across the table as his brother worked on cleaning the blood off of Mikey's face, trying to do so as gently as possible, but unable to stop her from occasionally wincing. Once all of the blood had been wiped away, Donnie unscrewed the cap off the plastic jar of vitamin k cream and dipped two fingers in the cool substance.

"Tilt your head back again."

Mikey blinked up at the ceiling. A soft grunt came from deep in her throat as Donnie massaged the cream around the bruising.

"I know, Mike," Don soothed quietly.

Suddenly a knock came at the door and Leo stood up and went to the living room.

"Thanks for coming so late, Leatherhead," Leo said as his large friend stepped in the house.

"Of course. I just wish it were under different circumstances," Leatherhead said in his deep yet gentle voice.

Leatherhead leaned the rather small umbrella he had been using against the wall. It was somewhat comical to see such a large man carrying around such a small thing to guard from the rain.

"Where is Michelangelo?"

Leo led him to the kitchen where Don had finished rubbing the cream on Mikey's black eye that was looking worse by the second.

Donatello stood up so their friend could sit and tend to his sister. Mikey turned her head and a small smile formed on her face, looking a bit warped from the swelling on the left side.

"Hey LH."

"My friend," Leatherhead spoke sympathetically as he sat down.

"Something happened," Mikey said in a bit of a joking way, but it fell flat as her voice cracked.

"Do not worry, we will get you fixed up and feeling better in no time, yeah?" he smiled when Mikey nodded, putting her utmost trust in him as though he were one of her brothers.

Leatherhead always felt as though he was in debt to the Hamato family for all they had done for him, from when he was homeless to all the years that followed.

He had been only twenty-three when the building he was residing in caught fire. He had sustained horrendous burns to the right side of his face and all down that side of his body. Leatherhead had been studying to become a doctor, but in one day that went crumbling to the ground. With no home and having to fork out what money he did have to pay the hospital bills, he was forced to live on the streets.

It was during that time he had met a small girl who was too young and far too vulnerable to be in the place she was.

Now, years later, he was helping that same girl with the medical knowledge he was never quite able to put forth into the field.

"There's some bits of glass in her head," Donatello informed. "I think she'll need some stitches too."

"I came prepared, do not worry, Donatello," he said, removing items from his black pack.

Leatherhead diligently worked on removing the bits of glass for a short while before moving on to stitching the cut on her nose, trying to not allow Mikey's occasional involuntary whimpering to deter him. He did not like hurting his friend, but this had to be done.

Leo felt a new wave of anger each time a new bit of glass was removed from his little sister's head and placed on the table. His fists curled tighter every time Mikey made a noise of pain, no matter how small.

"Good news is there doesn't appear to be any sign of concussion, but I don't doubt you will have some headaches for a few days. Some pain relievers should do the trick. I also recommend cold compress to that eye, try to bring down the swelling."

Donatello was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He was memorizing all LH was saying even though it was stuff he already knew to do.

"Also be sure to re-apply triple antibiotic ointment to your leg and re-wrap it every so often. Soon enough you will be good as new." He added the last bit with a small smile, but did not earn one in return.

"Thanks, LH," Mikey responded.

"Any time, my friend," he said, placing a large hand in her mop of wet curls.

* * *

Leo, Don, and Mikey were all sitting in the living room watching the remainder of the Jupiter Jim movie, but were hardly paying any attention to it.

Leo was running a hand through his little sister's hair, her head in his lap; he was sure to avoid the scabbing that was starting to form on her head and the frozen bag of peas that was laid on her face, covering the black eye.

The sound of the front door unlocking and opening roughly signaled that Raph was home. Don looked toward the door and gave a small wave.

Raph stomped over and stood in front of the television. And just as Don had, he froze. Leo and Don were just happy Raph hadn't seen her before the blood was cleaned away.

"Hey, Raphie," Mikey mumbled, breaking the awkward silence. "Can-can you tell Slash I'm sorry I lost his hat? It fell off when...and I couldn't-"

"Oh fuck the hat, Mike," Raph responded in a way that was somehow gruff and delicate at the same time.

Raph got on his knees so he could be more at his sister's level, and lightly moved the frozen peas away to see more of the damage.

"That son of a bitch," he spit out.

"We don't know what happened yet, Raph," Leo said in a warning tone. He figured they could get answers tomorrow. She had enough of a rough night.

"We know damn well what happened. It was  _him_  wasn't it? You ran into Trey?"

About half a minute passed, and they were almost sure Mikey wouldn't reply at all. But then Leo felt something wet forming on his leg, indicating the tears that had finally started to fall from his sister's eyes. And when she nodded her head slowly, Leo pressed his knuckles against his mouth and closed his eyes, fuming though keeping it contained for the moment.

Donnie was sitting straighter and was absolutely seething.

 _"That motherfucker,"_ Raph snarled before standing up, completely irate, and stomping toward the front door.

There was the unmistakable sound of the dojo keys jingling as Raph yanked them off the hook.

"Raph-" Leo started, but the door slammed, cutting him off. It was probably best to let him work out his anger anyway.

"I'm sorry," came the heart-rending voice on Leo's lap. "I'm so sorry."

"No, no, Mike. Raph isn't mad at you, he's mad at that  _prick,"_ Don said.

"It's okay, imouto. It'll all be okay," Leo started petting her hair again.

"I'm so stupid," she sobbed into his pant leg, her hand curling into a weak fist next to her face.

"Shh, imouto, stop. You are not stupid," Leo soothed. "It's okay. You're okay."

It took thirty minutes for Mikey to finally cry herself to sleep. Donatello had fallen asleep on the couch as well after putting the peas back in the freezer. The television had started showing late night infomercials at that point, but Leo couldn't manage to shut his brain up, which was strange because that was usually Don's problem.

Raph still had not come back from the dojo, but a quick text between the two of them spoke that he was most likely going to stay there for the night, trying to punch the dummies into nothing but bits of material.

Leo had ended up softly humming a tune his father would sing to them when they were little; whenever any of them had a bad dream, got hurt, or was sad.

His heart clenched every time he thought back to how Mikey had looked at him, sitting there in the kitchen wet with rain, bleeding and horrifically bruised.

That sparkle in her eye was no where to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: By the way, I will cover more of Leatherhead's backstory and how he met the Hamato family. Also, it will be covered that his nickname isn't Leatherhead because of his injuries (that would be mean) it's a nickname he had already been given and he wanted to stick with for reasons.


End file.
